I am very happy with the binoculars we have; they show such clear details. They are an 8x42. The 8 is magnification and the 42 is how much light is let in. (I hope I have that right) Ours were just around $200 and that included shipping. Vortex Crossfire. It has a true lifetime warranty. If you drop them and they break (for example), you send them in and they will repair or replace them. They are water and fog proof. We use them around home and away.

We bought 12x25s from Target for the children and they work for the little faces. The young ones struggle with the adult sized pair and get so frustrated not seeing anything. They are compact in size, but I just don't think they do quite as good of job. I believe the prices range from lower $20-50 depending on brand.

I hope you find something that works for you. I bought the Vortex online looking at reviews, never having tried them. But you can always go to a sporting goods store and experiment with what they have.